The Silver Sword facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Ian Serraillier |
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| Illustrator | shibu |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Children's |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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1956 |
| Pages | 192 (1956) |
| OCLC | 154290268 |
The Silver Sword is a classic adventure novel for children. It was written by Ian Serraillier and first published in the UK in 1956. In the United States, it was also known as Escape From Warsaw. The story is based on real events that happened during World War II, but the names of some places are changed. The parts about the Red Army (the Soviet army) are based on true stories from people who saw them. The Silver Sword has also been made into TV shows and radio plays.
The Story of The Silver Sword
Joseph's Escape from Prison
The story begins in Warsaw, Poland, in 1940, during World War II. Joseph Balicki, a school headmaster, was arrested by German soldiers. He was sent to a prison camp. His school was taken over, and students were forced to learn German. Joseph had turned a picture of Adolf Hitler to face the wall during a lesson. Someone reported him, and he was taken from his home on a cold night. His wife, Margrit, and their three children – Ruth (nearly 14), Edek (11), and Bronia (3) – were left alone.
Joseph spent over a year in prison. He finally escaped by overcoming a guard and taking his uniform. He then headed back towards his hometown of Warsaw.
After escaping, Joseph found shelter with an old couple in a nearby village. They were confused by his Polish speech but German uniform. He explained what happened and showed them his prison number, ZAK 2473, on his arm. Soon, they heard the prison camp's escape bell ringing. German soldiers came searching the next day. Joseph hid up a chimney. Soldiers fired bullets up the chimney but left when soot fell everywhere. Joseph stayed for two weeks before returning to Warsaw. The old man helped him for part of the journey.
Jan and the Silver Sword
When Joseph reached Warsaw, the city was badly damaged by bombs. He found the ruins of his house. There, he saw a boy named Jan sitting with a cat. Jan was holding a special paper knife – the Silver Sword. Joseph had given this sword to Margrit as a gift. Jan, who was a skilled pickpocket, had found it. Joseph let Jan keep the sword if Jan returned a sandwich he had stolen from Joseph.
Joseph told Jan he was going to Switzerland to find his wife, who had family there. He asked Jan to tell his children where he had gone if he ever saw them. Jan then helped Joseph find a goods train going towards Germany, and Joseph escaped on it.
The Children's Struggle and Edek's Capture
Soon after Joseph was taken, German soldiers broke into the Balicki house and took Margrit away. Edek tried to stop them by shooting at their van. Ruth warned Edek that this was dangerous. They realized they had to escape. The children climbed along the rooftops of nearby houses. From a distance, they watched as their home was blown up.
The three children spent that winter living in the cellar of a bombed house in Warsaw. In the summer, they lived in the woods outside the city. Edek started working with people involved in the illegal trade, stealing food and clothes for his sisters and other children. One evening, he didn't come back. Ruth later found out that Edek had been caught by Germans searching for hidden goods. They captured Edek and the house owner, then set the house on fire.
Finding Edek and Meeting Jan Again
In 1944, the Russians freed Warsaw. But there was still no news of Edek or their parents. Ruth and Bronia were living in a new shelter in the city. One day, Bronia found an older boy lying in the street. He introduced himself as Jan. He had a wooden box with him.
Ruth became friends with a Russian soldier named Ivan. He was stationed nearby and helped civilians. Ivan gave Ruth supplies and became a good friend. He eventually found out that Edek was in Posen. Edek had escaped from a German labor camp. Ruth, Bronia, and Jan traveled to Posen. They found Edek at a refugee feeding station. He was very sick with tuberculosis, a serious lung illness.
Journey to Berlin and Beyond
Once Ruth, Bronia, and Edek were together again, they traveled by train to Berlin with Jan. They wanted to find their parents. They arrived in Berlin in May 1945, right after World War II ended in Europe and Adolf Hitler's death. They went to a refugee camp.
Jan soon disappeared, chasing an escaped chimpanzee from the zoo. Jan and the chimpanzee became good friends. Jan also befriended a British army officer named Mark. Mark wrote a letter to his aunt about Jan and the chimpanzee. Jan eventually returned to the others. He and Ruth found temporary jobs.
Challenges in Germany
As the children traveled through Germany, Edek's health worsened because of his tuberculosis. He was arrested while following Jan, who had been stealing food from American supply trains. Both boys faced a military court. Edek was found innocent. Jan defended himself well, pointing out that some American soldiers were also stealing from the Germans. Still, Jan was sentenced to a week in detention.
After Jan was released, the children continued south. A Bavarian farmer named Kurt took them in. All the children worked on the farm, except Edek, who helped Kurt's wife with lighter chores.
A local mayor (called a burgomaster) crashed his car outside the farm. Edek offered to help fix it, speaking German. But Bronia accidentally asked a question in Polish, which revealed their true identity. The mayor later told Kurt about a new rule: all foreigners and refugees had to return to their home countries. This meant the children would be sent back to Poland.
Escape by Canoe and the Silver Sword's Return
To prevent the children from being sent back, Kurt helped them escape in canoes. Jan hid Kurt's pet dog in his canoe. They aimed to reach the River Danube. The children paddled along the River Falkenberg. They faced many dangers, including a soldier who shot at Ruth and Bronia.
After their canoe journey, Jan realized the Silver Sword was missing. He thought it was back at Kurt's house. This news made Edek's condition much worse. Jan and the dog went missing. An American truck driver named Joe Wolski gave the children a ride to help them find Jan. He joked that a hyena and a bear were in the back of his truck. When he opened it, Jan and the dog, Ludwig, were inside!
The children then met a superintendent. He told them he had messages from their father. The superintendent had received a letter from Kurt, who had also sent the Silver Sword with the letter. Kurt knew the children would have to go through the superintendent to reach Switzerland.
Reunion in Switzerland
Their final adventure was crossing Lake Constance. This was the most dangerous part. A terrible storm started and flipped their boat. Edek almost drowned because he was too weak to swim. But Jan was able to save the Balicki children.
Finally, the children were reunited with their parents! They introduced Jan to their father. Jan's past was checked, but his parents couldn't be found. The Balickis adopted him, just as he had wished.
In 1946, the Balicki family was put in charge of a Polish House in an International Children's Village in Switzerland. Bronia became a talented artist and drew many war scenes. Edek spent two years recovering from his tuberculosis and later became an engineer. Jan got a new cat named Arlo, stopped stealing, and often helped care for sick animals. Ruth became a teacher. After marrying a Frenchman and starting her own family, Ruth became in charge of the French House in the village in the early 1950s.
Adaptations
The BBC made an eight-part children's TV series of The Silver Sword in 1957. They made another TV version in the early 1970s. In 2011, a radio version was made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Legacy
John Boyne, who wrote The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, has said that Ian Serraillier's novel was very important to him. He called The Silver Sword a "great children's classic." He said it was his first introduction to World War II in fiction. It taught him about the horrors of the Nazi era and the fear that young heroes like Ruth, Edek, and Bronia felt.
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See also
In Spanish: The Silver Sword para niños
